I LOVED LUCY

posted on October 16th, 2010 at 7:49 AM by Steven Stanley


There’s hardly an American of TV viewing age who hasn’t seen at least one episode of I Love Lucy, but only a comparative few can claim to have known its iconic star Lucille Ball, and of those, even fewer knew her as well as Lee Tannen, author of the affectionate memoir I Loved Lucy. Tannen’s popular book now makes a smooth and satisfying transition from the printed page to the legitimate stage in his play of the same name, currently in its World Premiere production at the Laguna Playhouse.
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posted in Comedy-Drama, Orange County, WOW!

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

posted on October 16th, 2010 at 12:07 AM by Steven Stanley


Boys Will Be Boys is Naked Boys Singing with a cast about half the size (no pun intended), a girl among the boys—and not a trace of nudity. If that sounds not at all like NBS, then think again. Both are musical revues filled with plenty of R-rated double entendre lyrics, both shows feature a young, attractive cast, both include a same sex love song (and a serious song or two thrown in for depth), and like Naked Boys Singing, Boys Will Be Boys is a heck of a lot of fun, even with clothes on.
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posted in Musical Revue, Orange County, WOW!

WHEN GARBO TALKS

posted on October 15th, 2010 at 10:11 AM by Steven Stanley

RECOMMENDED
Screen legend Greta Garbo’s voice remained as mysterious as the star herself until the release of Anna Christie, her first talking picture. “Garbo Talks!” proclaimed ads for the 1930 flick, and talk the Swedish superstar did, her “Gif me a vhisky, ginger ale on the side, and don’t be stingy, baby!” soon becoming almost as synonymous with the reclusive screen idol as her much quoted “I vant to be alone!”
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posted in Long Beach/San Pedro, Musical, Recommended

TERRE HAUTE

posted on October 14th, 2010 at 9:56 AM by Steven Stanley


Imagine you were allowed to conduct a series of brief interviews with the man responsible for killing 168 Americans and injuring over 500 more in the then deadliest act of terrorism ever perpetrated on U.S. soil. Assuming you even wanted to talk to him, what would you say? What would you want to know?
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posted in Drama, Hollywood/West Hollywood, WOW!

MEASURE FOR MEASURE

posted on October 13th, 2010 at 1:03 PM by Steven Stanley


A powerful government official offers to suspend a sex offender’s death sentence in exchange for a night of love-making with the convicted man’s virginal sister. Sound like a scene from a day or nighttime soap? It certainly could be, but is in fact the central conflict of William Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure, about as contemporary a play as the Bard ever wrote, even four-plus centuries after its first performance. No wonder A Noise Within’s “present time” setting in a “modern capital city” works so well in this first production of its 2010-2011 repertory season.
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posted in Burbank/Glendale, Comedy-Drama, WOW!

SPOTLIGHT CABARET: BROADWAY NU SKOOL

posted on October 12th, 2010 at 9:45 AM by Steven Stanley


There’s been an explosion of New York style cabaret in Los Angeles over the past few years, with Aaron Jacobs’ second-Sunday-of-the-month Spotlight Cabaret providing audiences the chance to enjoy the vocal talents of some of our finest musical theater talents while savoring some of Café Metropol’s tasty dinner treats or a cocktail, beer, or glass of wine.
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posted in Cabaret/Concert/Variety, Los Angeles, WOW!

SOUTH PACIFIC

posted on October 12th, 2010 at 9:19 AM by Steven Stanley


Rodgers & Hammerstein fanatics may cry sacrilege, but I never quite understood why South Pacific was considered such a classic. Then came the National Tour of the 2009 Tony-winning (Best Revival Of A Musical) Lincoln Center Theatre production, and I became a believer. Not only is South Pacific one of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest, it stands as one of the greatest musicals ever to grace a Broadway theater, at least when done right.
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posted in Musical, National Tour, Orange County, WOW!

FUTURA

posted on October 10th, 2010 at 10:18 AM by Steven Stanley


What do you call a play that starts with a 35-minute university lecture on “From Pen To Pixel: A History Of Typography,” turns in an instant into an edge-of-your-seat thriller, and finally becomes something quite lyrical which leaves you breathless?

You call it brilliant.
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posted in Drama, Pasadena, WOW!

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